In a month, another group of Russian warships led by the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, will leave from Sevastopol and head for the Mediterranean Sea. After that, two destroyers from the Northern Fleet - the Severomorsk and the Admiral Levchenko - will take part in the Russian-American naval exercises in the Atlantic Ocean.
So many Russian vessels have not been at sea at once for a decade. The Kaliningrad, which is heading for the Mediterranean Sea under the protection of the Neustrashimy, is carrying 50 marines, seven amphibious armored personnel carriers and a military brass band from the Baltic Fleet. The comparatively small frigate has a displacement of 3,820 metric tons and is equipped with two twin 130 mm guns (1,700 rounds), four coupled 45mm rapid fire guns (2,000 rounds per each barrel), two quintuple torpedo tube sets (50 torpedoes) and two 16-barrel missile systems (2,500 rounds). After calling at the Spanish port of Cartage and conducting joint exercises with the Spanish Navy, the Russian sailors will attend the Russian arts festival in Cannes, France.
The Moskva missile cruiser has 16 Bazalt missiles, which have a 500-kilometer range and are capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads. The cruiser is also equipped with 64 Fort air defense missiles (an analogue of the S-300PM missile system), 40 Osa anti-aircraft guided missiles, a 130mm artillery gun, 6 six-barrel guns (AK-630) and two 12-barrel missile systems. After the Russian-Italian naval exercises, the Moskva, the ships escorting it and NATO vessels will patrol the Mediterranean Sea. The Moskva's crew will check transport vessels that could be carrying terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, or portable air defense missile systems to Europe.
Some Russian military commanders and military experts have called the long cruises of Black Sea and Northern Fleet ships: "Russia's return to the oceans." Naturally, this is an exaggeration (the cruises will last a few weeks), but, in fact, they are right: the Russian Navy is reviving. (Russia is surrounded by two oceans and 11 seas.) Though after the tragic accident on the Kursk nuclear submarine, in which 118 sailors died, it seemed that the Russian Navy would never rise from its knees. But it is rising.
Indeed, the Russian Navy is much smaller than the Soviet Navy was. For example, the Soviet Union had 250 nuclear submarines, more than the combined amount of nuclear submarines in the rest of the world, while Russia only has 35 submarines. Of Russia's 35 submarines, only 16 carry strategic missiles. The Russian Navy also has only one aircraft carrier - the Admiral Kuznetsov - with 20 multifunctional Su-33 fighters. The navy has 297 combat vessels consisting of 70 missile cruisers and destroyers, 40 trawlers, 35 landing ships and 80 combat vessels of various classes and purposes.
It is meaningless to discuss whether the navy has too many or two few vessels, as everything depends on its purpose. While the numerical strength of the navy is definitely not enough to gain supremacy in the ocean, the Russian Navy has no such goals. The navy is, however, sufficient for defending Russia's ports, naval bases, Russia's economic zones on costal seas, and the open sea shelves that belong to Russia.
No navy exists separately from the entire strength of a country's armed forces. In regards to the Russian Navy, its combat partners are strategic containment arms and the navy also has air and ground components as well. As of December 31, 2003, the Russian "shield and sword" consisted of 642 ground-based strategic missiles, which is enough for Russian warships and their crews to feel protected.
Besides, the Russian Navy is not faced with the same tasks it had 15 years ago. Combating international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technologies requires coordinated common efforts from all civilized countries, including their navies. The most important point for Moscow is that in this cooperation, countries rely on international legal institutions, international law and follow decisions made by the United Nations and its Security Council.
Russia's participation in joint naval exercises with the U.S., NATO countries, Black Sea states, South Korea, Japan and other countries, the formulation of common rules of conduct on the seas and rescuing submarines and other vessels in distress fit well into this format.
The Russian Navy, Russia's leadership and its army command will have to do a large amount of serious work for the navy meet the technical standards of advanced countries' navies. It is necessary to build new ships and provide them with new weapons and weapons control systems, including satellite and navigational systems, modern communications systems, reconnaissance systems, target designation systems and computer systems.
Russian shipbuilders are capable of accomplishing this task. Recently, three frigates for India's navy and two destroyers for China's navy were built at the Baltic Shipyard and the Northern Dockyard in St. Petersburg. The Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, which was sold to India, is being modernized at the Sevmash Dockyard in Severodvinsk in the Arkhangelsk Region. The majority of Russian nuclear submarines, including the ones armed with strategic missiles, were built at this yard.
All surface ships sold to other countries have Russian arms - missiles, torpedo launchers, guns and automatic combat control systems. These weapons are as efficient as their foreign counterparts and in some cases better. This explains why Russian vessels are in high demand in some of the largest countries (India and China).
However, building a navy of tomorrow is a separate subject. People can get a picture of what the Russian Navy is today by visiting Russian ships at ports in Norway, Britain, Portugal, Spain, France and, possibly, Greece.
